First Sunday of Advent
Text: Matthew 24:36-44
Theme: "As in the Days of Noah"
December 2, 2007
Today I would turn your attention to the Gospel reading. We need to dig deeply into the reading.
First, what do the words say? We take their clear meaning.
Second, what does this mean for us? Be ready for judgement day.
Third, how does it say this? We need to work our way through that.
The thrust of Jesus’ words is "be ready, you do not know when the end will come." Jesus also tells us that He is the only one who can make you ready.
It is really important to know what Jesus uses to deliver this message.
Jesus delivers His message using a comparison to the time of Noah.
Jesus says the end times will be like the times of Noah.
This is not a made up illustration or story to make a point.
Jesus refers to this account as actual history.
So that is what it has to be.
It is true and that is connected to the last day.
To make a true comparison, you need to start with truth. So . . .
The times of Noah happened as recorded in Genesis.
Jesus pulls it in with those few words "as in the days of Noah".
His hearers would fill in the details from the history recorded in Genesis.
The truth of Jesus’ teaching is built on the truth of the Genesis account.
We need to go back and be sure of what this all includes.
God flooded the entire world in judgement of the wickedness of the human race.
God warned Noah, who had remained faithful to Him and through Noah God provided a way to be saved from the flood.
God had Noah build an ark, a ship, to save him, his family and representatives of every kind of animal from the flood.
The flood came and only those in the ark were saved.
That is what happened then and Jesus tells us it parallels what will happen at the end of time.
Jesus has affirmed the historical accuracy of Genesis and we need to stand with it. And we can.
But you may say or may hear "How could this be true?"
Well, let’s look at one of the most common doubts.
How could Noah fit all the animals on the ark?
To deal with that we first, how many animals are we talking about?
Do we need every breed of dog? Every breed of cow? No
We need one pair from the canine kind and seven or seven pair from the bovine kind.
So there would be between 16,000 ans 35,000 animals with the average size of a sheep most of them smaller than that.
Still that would take a lot of room. True
Don’t be fooled by the cutesy cartoon arks we see so often.
The ark, using the shortest of the known cubits, would be 450 ft long, 75 ft wide and 45 ft high with three decks and a carrying capacity equal to 522 railroad boxcars.
The animals and their feed would have filled up maybe two thirds of the ark.
The facts fit. The evidence supports Genesis.
It all works.
The point is where it goes from there.
Or, why is this so important for us? Because it means the details are true and Jesus has things to teach us from them.
It was a universal flood.
All of humanity was affected.
All of the earth was covered.
There was no way to run away from it.
There was no way to survive on your own.
The only way of salvation was the way God provided.
Only a ship like the ark could survive.
Survival required preparation and God provided through His servant Noah.
This brings us back to Jesus message.
Jesus says you need to be ready for the last day. It will be like in the days of Noah.
We certainly see the wickedness of humanity today.
In deed, every inclination of the human heart is evil.
Jesus taught us this in Matthew 15:19 "For out of the human heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander."
How true this is today.
Jesus also teaches us the judgement will be universal.
No one will escape.
No way to run away.
So, be ready for it whether it comes to the whole world or to you in death.
As in the days of Noah, God Himself provides the only way of salvation.
Jesus is the ark of salvation.
He is the only way to "survive" the judgement.
He is our defense. He is our substitute, taking our sin, our condemnation and giving us forgiveness and freedom.
After the judgement the Lord gives us the ultimate in new worlds.
He gives us His everlasting kingdom.
Jesus wants us to live in His kingdom with Him. He also has work for us now, as He did for Noah. Remember that the animals would have filled less than two thirds of the ark. What was the rest of the room for? People There was room in the ark. There is room in the ark of the Church. Our job is to call on then to come in. There is always enough room. There is always time. Until God shuts the door that is. There is always room until the judgement comes. Then, as in the days of Noah, it will be too late.
SDG
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